Banbury Sailing Club

About Banbury Sailing Club

Banbury Sailing Club is a family friendly club, formed in 1950 and ever since has been training and developing its members.

The Club is open to all ages and experience levels – from keen racers, family sailors through to those who are new to sailing.

The club sails on the Boddington Reservoir, which is around 90 acres in size and is set in attractive, unspoilt countryside. The reservoir is located near Byfield, Northamptonshire (about 7 miles north of Banbury).

Members can sail at any time except on a few occasions in the year when the club is holding an Open Meeting or on one of the two annual work party days.

The Club is an RYA registered Training Centre and runs many courses each year for members ranging from start sailing to more advanced courses, including Powerboat qualifications.

Banbury Sailing Club activities

Activities at the club broadly fall into three main categories:

Training

The club is an RYA accredited training centre and runs a wide range of sailing courses to meet the needs of its members. The training is provided by qualified instructors and can be undertaken using one of the club boats or in your own boat. Throughout the summer months, the club also supports those wishing to put their training into practise by running supervised, but informal evening sessions.

Cruising

What better way to spend your day than sailing about the Boddington reservoir. The location is stunning and with near unrestricted access, you can enjoy the facilities when you want. The club also arranges trips to sail in places, away from the club.

Racing

The club races a range of boats, split into the following classes – Merlin Rocket, GP14, Solo, Laser, Comet, and Menagerie. The Menagerie fleet catches all other boats which do not have a specific fleet. Racing is close and competitive at all levels but is not so focused as to not be enjoyable for all.

The club hosts Open Meetings for their class fleets, attracting sailors from around the country. They also host a Classic and Vintage Dinghy Racing Association event every year.

The lake is not suitable for all dinghies, so if you’re wanting to race at Banbury Sailing Club and your boat is not in one of the class fleets above, do get in touch if before joining.